After stopping swimming last year I picked up quite a bit of weight from uneducated eating habits. I want to stress – there is nothing wrong with excess weight gain. But for me, it was important to get a professionals help with making healthier choices, to reduce my chances of future health complications (read about my weight journey in detail in the About Me section of my blog).
This year, I decided to get a sports dietician to help me with the transition from an athlete’s diet to an active (more normal) 18 year old’s diet.
There are a lot of misconceptions around working with a dietician. A lot of people assume dieticians are helpful only for over-weight people looking to go on a diet. Whilst dieticians do offer this service, they can also help anyone of any weight transition to a healthier lifestyle, work with digestive issues (such as IBS) and allergies, build muscle, work on positive body image, implement meal plans and strategies for eating out, and picking up weight.
In my case, I wanted help transitioning from my younger mindset that was happy eating chocolate for breakfast, to one that was focused on attaining balance with my diet and nutrition.
I focus on BALANCE here because getting a dietician does not mean eating only broccoli and protein powder. My goals were to maintain a healthy weight whilst still incorporating the foods I love.
The hardest part for me is eating out. My friends and I are foodies who love to explore different restaurants in Sydney (Queen Chow, China Doll, Sunset Sabi, Bare Naked Bowls, Laneway Cafe, Turka and Le Bouchon are amongst my favourites!). Of course, enjoying delicious food and exploring new restaurants means that making healthy choices is more difficult. My dietician is working with me to choose options that I still love, but that are more nutritious and rewarding for my body. That being said – a treat night is always okay!
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I’ve documented a sample day of eating to give an idea of how I eat.
I started the day with a take on the classic bacon and eggs. I wanted to make sure I had healthy fats as well as a good amount of protein. I had 1 poached egg, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, 2 bacon rashers fried in coconut oil (try to avoid olive oil for frying – if it gets too hot, it starts to lose it’s health benefits).
I broke up the morning with some honey & ginger tea and a banana.
Then for lunch, I made a delicious chicken stir fry...
To make this you will need:
- 1/2 cup chopped green beans
- 1 scrambled raw egg
- 100g chopped raw chicken
- sultanas (just trust me on this one)
- 1 handful of chopped walnuts
- Paprika, Salt, Garlic powder, to season
Place the walnuts in a large frypan on medium heat and drizzle with coconut oil. Place a pan lid over them for 3 minutes.
Whilst the walnuts are toasting, cook the chicken in a separate pan on medium-high heat until cooked through. Add the green beans to the pan with the walnuts and stir fry until green beans are crispy. Add all ingredients into the larger pan and stir fry until egg is cooked. Then reduce heat. Season with paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Enjoy!
Afternoon tea was Natalie’s Health Honey Cinnamon Cookies – I made the batch at the start of the week. I use 1/2 cup stevia instead of the 3/4 cup coconut sugar. If you don’t like stevia – try using mashed bananas or extra honey instead.
Dinner was my sweet potato and chickpea curry. I roasted some sweet potato (see my Roast Pumpkin recipe – substitute sweet potato), and threw it together over medium-high heat with lite coconut milk, cooked quinoa, drained chickpeas, and paprika/garlic/salt. Use 1 cup vegetable stock, if too much liquid evaporates.
xx
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